Chapter 6

Thanks again to ShAmy4evr for editing!

Posting a little early to show that Shamy love. We all need it...

The next morning, Sheldon was his same giddy self and out of habit, and desire, he walked Amy to her lab after they had arrived at work.

"I'm gonna miss you strapping electrodes on me, Amy. I enjoyed helping with your experiment." Amy's back was turned towards him, as she attempted to open her lab door, and he leaned in to smell her hair before she quickly turned around with a smile. The scent was killing him. What could it be?

Sheldon was rummaging through all the fruity smells he could think of as Amy said, "Good. Helping with such studies can be very rewarding. I myself volunteered for an experiment at UCLA in which orgasm was achieved by electronically stimulating the pleasure centers of the brain."

Sheldon was shaken from his categorization of fruity smells to focus on her again. Did she just say orgasm, he wondered, "I'm sorry, what?"

"Yes, it was quite fascinating. They used a large needle and then…"

Sheldon backed up against the wall as if he had already been stabbed, "WOAH! WOAH! I'll just stick to the ol' fashion way, thank you. Ma'am."

Sheldon usually found the way that Amy rattled off facts with a clinical impartiality, oddly appealing but was fast becoming uncomfortable with the present topic. Her next question made Sheldon back up even more into the wall, "Oh, do you mean masturbation or sexual intercourse?"

Sheldon gulped, "Well… I mean, that's really. I mean not too often.. I mean to say."

Amy shrugged at his discomfort, "Did you know that if you exercise regularly, you have 15 percent increase in testosterone levels and a 46 percent decrease of hypogonadism, a condition of low testosterone levels that can be linked to low sex drive and erectile dysfunction, according to Mayo Clinic."

"Well… I really don't… I mean, 15% really?" Sheldon had been wondering why his sex drive seemed to be higher than those doppelgangers of his. And lately, his fantasies of Amy were keeping him up later and causing much longer showers.

"Yes… I read a study on it last night. Among… other things…" Amy returned to her task as she tried to forget the heated romance novel she had been engrossed in last night.

Sheldon swallowed the feeling in his throat and confessed, "Well, I've never had intercourse..."

Amy turned quickly and cocked her head, "Interesting. Not too many men of your age and um…" She eyed him up and down, "Well...l your age … I haven't either, unless you count that UCLA study I mentioned. Would that count?"

"Um… sure. I guess." He let out a smile at the hint of comradery. Just as the Sheldons had said, she was an inexperienced as he was. He didn't realize it would give him comfort, but it did. However, this study was another matter. "I guess it could count..."

"Then 128 times it is. I really need to find out if they are still running that study." Amy gave a quick smile and finally opened her lab door.

"Um… 128? Wow… um…" Sheldon flushed up, and in a desperate need to change the subject, which did not seem to faze Amy, he stammered remembering his plan for the evening, "Anyway Amy, I forgot to ask you, can you give me a hand again tonight? I'm going to have more boxes of books to take home."

Amy furrowed her brow, "More books on M Theory?"

"Yes. There's a lot of literature on it."

Amy shrugged, "You'd think with that much on it, they'd have proved it by now."

Sheldon narrowed his eyes at her and grumbled till she said, "Sure, Sheldon, I will give you a hand."

"Good… Oh and we can have lunch too, right?" Sheldon stepped closer to her and beamed at smile.

"But this time, you get the lunch and I get the table, okay?"

Sheldon swallowed and said meekly, "Yes…Amy."

Amy smiled and gently patted his shoulder, "Don't worry, if it's too crowded, we can eat in your office." Amy turned around and headed into her lab not noticing the twinkle in Sheldon's eyes as he headed toward his office.

Around 11:45, Amy checked out the cafeteria to survey the situation for Sheldon. She was shocked to find almost every faculty member of Caltech stuffed into the room. She couldn't even get to the door let alone the lunch counter.

She walked back to Sheldon's office and knocked softly and opened the door. Sheldon seemed to be waiting for her, leaning against his desk, legs outstretched and arms crossed over his chest with a smug grin on his face, "Well, Amy. Are you ready for lunch?" Sheldon didn't move from his spot.

"Well, it seems the lunch room is packed like a Neil Diamond concert. No chance we can eat there."

Sheldon felt an itch in his nose as he tried to hide his smile, "Oh dear, I wonder what the devil is going on…"

Just then, Leonard rushed in the room, "Sheldon! Amy! Come quick, I heard Stephen Hawking is at Caltech, and he's giving people rides on his chair! Let's go!"

Amy turned to Sheldon who hadn't moved, "Sheldon don't you want to go?"

"Nah… if I wanted to ride with a science Diva, I'd call up Bill Nye to take me for a spin in his Prius."

Leonard rolled his eyes and tore off down the hall with Howard and Raj close behind.

Sheldon's grin took up his whole face, "Amy…How about we just eat here. I picked up some sandwiches before the crowd got too crazy, good thing huh?" Sheldon moved from his desk and revealed a spread worthy of a royal banquet. He had two sandwiches, two glasses with a bottle of sparkling water, enough napkins to cover a house, and a Bunsen burner.

"Sheldon, that was thoughtful!" Amy looked over the scene and stared in disbelief at Sheldon. "What is this, Sheldon? Why do you have a Bunsen burner?"

Sheldon pulled some matches out of his pocket and shrugged, "Um… just in case you wanted to heat up the food."

Amy tilted her head as she stared at the food, "But…Its cold sandwiches."

"Who knows what crafty culinary tricks you learned at Harvard." Sheldon applied the match to the Bunsen burner so it lit up like a candle. Amy hid her smile as Sheldon asked, "So, ham and swiss, or tuna on rye?"

"Tuna please." Amy was thrilled, "Sparkling water!? How fancy! What's the special occasion?"

Sheldon shrugged, "You finishing your study!"

Sheldon remembered number Three's sage advice about how to show a woman you care about her: "just ask her how her day went, interested in what she has to say…ask her about her work…" Sheldon One may not have paid heed to the advice of the others but Sheldon Six now took every word as gospel.

Sheldon pulled out a chair for her and tapped the back, "Come have some lunch and tell me all about your results so far." He watched Amy dig into the lunch with her back turned from him, while he slowly closed the office door.

He bit his lip and thought to himself as he watched Amy sip on sparking water that tickled her nose, "Rides on Hawking's chair? Who'd fall for that?"

After a long and enjoyable private lunch Sheldon and Amy bid their goodbyes. As soon as she turned the corner, Sheldon had a mission. He had to find more books! He spent the rest of the afternoon gathering any discarded book he could find just to fill up a box ending up in Leonard's lab figuring that Leonard would have a treasure trove of useless literature.

"Sheldon! How's it going? Oh, by the way, that Hawking thing was a bust. It was a hoax email. Kripke got in big trouble, but he insists he didn't send it."

Sheldon sucked in his cheek to hide his sneer, "Oh….poor Barry. But he should know better than to tease a University of scientists with a visit by Hawking." Or leave his computer unlocked, Sheldon thought to himself.

Sheldon was poking around the room and finally Leonard asked, "Whatcha need Sheldon, another Bunsen burner? I need that back, by the way."

Sheldon straightened up, "No… nothing…some for… Um something Amy mentioned… Anyways, speaking of Amy…" He cocked his head and asked, "How long have you known her?"

"Hmm… Since Raj did that study of hers… About three years."

"And… you two have gotten pretty close, huh?" Sheldon was fishing with rusty pole. Leonard knew nothing.

"With Amy? Close? Nah. Amy doesn't get close, at least not with us. Why is she making weird references to her menses again? She said she would stop that!"

Sheldon shook his head, "Oh no, nothing like that."

"Is she going to help you with women? Worked wonders on Raj. He's as bad with the ladies as Wolowitz now, but at least he can verbalize his own pathetic pleas."

"No.. no no… It um… it's just that she is goin' to be helping me become acclimated with larger groups of the hoi polloi of science such as yourself, so I wanted one of y'alls take on her."

Leonard rolled his eyes at Sheldon not so subtle dig. "I am not the hoi polloi of science."

"Well… common man, let's say. So back to Amy…" Sheldon gave a pleasant grin and Leonard was happy to change the subject.

"Amy's nice and all that, but she never lets anyone get close enough to be interested in her."

"Are you interested in her?" Sheldon froze before he heard the answer.

"First off, not my type. Next, Amy doesn't believe in dating. She thinks it's a waste of time to spend a tedious evening with someone who will never show interest in her. I think she got jaded after a bad date one night."

"What happened?"

"She didn't say much, she's tight lipped that way. But I think it was a guy she went out with once."

"What guy, who!? When?" Sheldon swallowed back the acid building in this throat.

"I don't know. Like 8 years ago. Amy joked he was a sweetie because he was diabetic."

"Did she…" Sheldon twitched and stammered, "Date him a lot or something… or more?"" He wondered how serious this relationship was and if Amy still harbored any feelings.

Leonard was busy with his laser and didn't notice Sheldon's twitching, "Nah. Just one date. I think it was her first one ever. Oh yeah, she said it was and I think her mom set it up, so I think she went out with him just to get her mom off her back, and though she did joke about it, I think she did think he was sweet. Well apparently he kissed her ..."

"HE DID WHAT?" Sheldon put on Leonard's laser goggles to hide his anger. Leonard continued with his laser experiment with a cup of noodles. Since the lunch room had been so crowded with Stephen Hawking stalkers, he had had to make do with this for his meal.

"Yeah, he told her that that is how one ends a date." Leonard paid no attention to Sheldon's shuffling about.

Sheldon swallowed and asked timidly, "Really? One does that on the end of a date?"

"Oh yeah. End of date kiss is a must, man. Anyway, after the kiss, he told her he wasn't interested in her at all. He was kinda a jerk about it, I think. Amy said it just proved her point that romantic stuff was a waste of time. I said she was stupid to give up on love because of one bad date and…" Leonard changed his tone, "Let me give you some advice…"

Sheldon leaned in to hear.

Leonard lowered his goggles, "Never EVER call Amy stupid." Leonard put back on his goggles, "Anyway she said… let me see if I can get this right… Oh yeah… I find the notion of romantic love to be an unnecessary cultural construct that adds no value to human relationships."

Sheldon's heart stopped, "That's the most pragmatic thing I've ever heard…" Sheldon grumbled, "It's stupid!"

"Yeah, but for god sake, don't tell Amy that! Besides… I wouldn't worry… OH SHIT!" Before Leonard could say another word, he had to put out the fire he had started across the room. Sheldon shook his head as he watched Leonard fan the flames which just made the fire worse. Sheldon moved to Leonard, pushed him out of the way, grabbed a large glass of water sitting on the table and put out the fire.

Sheldon shook his head, "Really Leonard… An experimental physicist with a laser should know better than to use that high a setting. I weep for humanity, and that cup of noodles." He exited the lab, but not before he took a few books out of his box on Lab safety which he thought Leonard could use more than he.

After work, Sheldon met Amy at her car with two more boxes of books. The drive home was much more pleasant and easier than the last time, and he felt confident enough to ask for her help up to the apartment.

"But last time you were able to carry two boxes by yourself." Amy cocked her head in confusion.

Sheldon's eyes darted around, "Oh… I pulled by shoulder… saving Leonard from a laser accident this afternoon."

"Oh my god!" Amy grabbed a box and followed him into the apartment building, "Although, I am not surprised given his track record."

"No doubt." Sheldon smiled as they rode the elevator up to the 4th floor. He was so glad they could use the elevator because in such a small enclosed space, he could smell Amy's sweet fruity shampoo. Peach? Nah… Maybe Mango?

As they entered Sheldon's apartment, Amy seemed to be much more relaxed than she had the last time. She placed the boxes near the stack of the others, and then smiled to Sheldon. "Okay.. I better..."

Sheldon interrupted her, "Um… Amy…." Sheldon returned to the door and closed it behind them. Amy took in a deep breath and held it.

"Um… Amy… Are you in need of any carbohydrates, or perhaps a cup of hot tannin and theanine?" He didn't look at her when he asked, just ahead toward the wall with far too much blinking.

"Are you asking me to stay for tea?" Amy gulped and looked at him for confirmation.

"Um… yes… If you have the time, however, if you are busy or would rather not… I'd understand.. I mean, you're a busy woman and…"

"I'd love to have a cup of tea, Sheldon. Thank you." Amy gave him a warm smile.

Sheldon's face lit up at her response, "Then yes! Um… Lemon tea?"

"I'd love that!"

Sheldon couldn't help but grin knowing he had stocked up on lemon tea following his first meeting with Amy. The smell of lemon tea had reminded him of the scent of Amy's warm breath and he had loved it ever since. He had also purchased snacks that he thought "women" would like such as hummus, chocolate covered blueberries and the like after he had phoned his sister to find out what gals ate these days.

He had not told Missy why he wanted to know if women really did need that fancy yogurt that helps with female things. However Missy, like her older sibling, was no fool, and was elated that her twin had finally decided to join the living and try his hand at love. She grilled Sheldon over this new love interest that Junior had already told her about, when all Sheldon wanted to do was get off the phone with his nosey squealing sister as he shopped late for special Lemon tea and 'women's' food.

Looking around the room, Amy asked, "Do you mind if I use the facilities?"

"Not at all. Down the hall, straight on." Sheldon went to the kitchen to prepare their snacks.

Amy quickly left Sheldon's side to find the bathroom. She didn't really need to use the restroom as much as she needed to catch her breath. She had to quell her nerves. Sheldon had only asked her for tea. Tea. Nothing else was happening so there was no need for her worry. She repeated this in her head as she looked in the mirror to put on peach lip gloss and straighten her hair. As she came out of the room, she saw another door at the end of the hall to the left of the bathroom with a bar across the doorway.

Sheldon, who had heard her open the bathroom door, came down to check on her and saw that she was curiously staring at the bar.

"Do you have structural problems that would cause you to brace for earthquakes?" Amy had never seen a pull up bar before. Sheldon smiled at her ignorance.

"Nope. That's for exercise. It's a pull up bar." Sheldon opened the door, so that he could show her how to use it.

"Exercise?" Without a thought, Amy grabbed the bar and held on. "So, you pull yourself up? Is that why your arms look so strong?"

Sheldon thought she was being kind, but she really did think that he was a beast with his massive guns.

"Well, aren't you nice, but I've had far too many long hours on that bar. Daddy used to make me… Well… Lots of hours, let's leave it at that." Sheldon grabbed the bar, did one quick pull up and jumped down. "See? Easy."

"Oh my!" Amy nearly quivered watching him pull himself up on the bar.

Sheldon licked his lips, "Wanna try it?"

Her curiosity got the better of her, and she tried to pull herself up as well. However she didn't have the upper body or arm strength. She hung from the bar like a monkey with her bent legs dangling, getting nowhere. Sheldon watched her struggle, trying to hold back his laughter. He moved forwards and stood in front of her, "I think girls do a bent arm hang. Here." Without a word, Sheldon picked Amy up and heaved her off the ground so she would be able to grab the bar with bent arms. She let out a high pitched squeal worthy of any teenage girl.

"Sheldon! What do I do?" He held her weight easily with his arms wrapped around the top of her thighs just below her butt. He hoisted her up so that her head was above the bar. She tried to control her breathing, but the feeling of being so close to him was making that difficult.

"I gotcha. Hang on the bar, with your arms bent, palms toward you. See if you can make it past 30 seconds." His hot breath was on her neck as he spoke to her looking up. He did manage to keep his eyes up and look at her face, but the feeling of her chest positioned perfectly with his mouth was a distraction. He took a swallow as he thought that he should have thought this through more.

Amy was ready for action and determined to get this bar thing right! She held onto the bar and supported her own weight. Sheldon let her go, but held her hips for a moment to steady her and also to feel them under his palms. Amy hung there with a huge smile. "I'm doing it!"

Amy let her chin rest on the bar, but Sheldon snapped at her in a thick Texas accent that sounded too much like his father for his taste, "Don't put your chin on that bar. It doesn't count, then." He swallowed and lowered his tone to a kinder tone, "My daddy started me off this way, then I had to start with the pull ups later."

Amy was curious about Sheldon's past, and the conversation was a good distraction from her trembling arms. "How long did you last up here? This isn't easy"

"I know… I had to last 70 seconds or I couldn't do my calculus, but if you can do…"

Amy cut him off, "WOW! That's…Oh this is hard. How old were you?" Amy was already wavering.

"11, right after…" Sheldon swallowed, and changed the subject, "Marine Corps perfect score for the flexed arm hang PT test is 70 seconds." Sheldon tried to smile, but he could still remember the pain his younger self felt being on that bar for what seemed like hours.

"I think I'd do the coast guard first. Less storming beaches, more dolphins. God, this is hard!" Amy stopped, and released the bar after the pain in her arms became too much to take. She felt as if she had been up there for an age. "How long was that?"

"27 seconds. Good job for a beginner."

Amy let out a sigh, and bent down with her hands on her knees to catch her breath, "I'm spent. I can't imagine an 11 year old up there for that long. That is cruel." Amy rubbed her arms and looked at Sheldon with a pained face, "You were very strong."

"That was a long time ago, Amy. I can do much more now." Sheldon stood up to attention.

"No, for surviving the ordeal. You didn't deserve that. It's a testament to your strength that you didn't let that stop you."

Sheldon took a deep breath, "Well, certain things I stopped." Sheldon remembered that he had stopped a lot of things that summer. He had stopped having fun, reading comics, and smiling. It was years before he smiled again, and then it was a forced defensive mechanism. He had not smiled without thought or to hide a lie until he had met Amy.

However, he didn't like the sympathetic look she gave him. It reminded him too much of the pity he shunned and he didn't want to seem weak. Not to her.

With a biting tone, he snapped at her, "I could do it, Amy. It wasn't that hard, damn it. I did it!"

Amy didn't take the snap personally. Her mouth curled up on one side, as she placed her hand on his large bicep, "Yes. You did." She smiled full and held her own arms, "I have a lot of catching up to do."

Sheldon's demeanor calmed in an instant, "Oh… you don't have to… Oh damn!" Sheldon could hear the kettle whistling. It must have been going off for quite a while. "Oh! The tea!" He rushed off to the kitchen like a sprinter.

Amy closed the bedroom door, but not before she noticed a small bed and crib in the corner of the nearly empty bedroom.

Amy came out to find Sheldon fussing with the tea, and almost burning himself on the kettle. He seemed harried.

"I'm sorry I don't have many visitors here. In fact… you are the first."

"Ever?" Amy was a little shocked.

"Does the pizza guy count?"

"Not really…"

Amy followed him into the room and sat in one of the armchairs. She looked around, it seemed as if he had just moved in. "How long have you been here, Sheldon?"

"15 years."

"It's a large place… Did you ever live with someone? Like a friend or a relative…" Amy took the tea Sheldon handed her and sipped the brew as she finished her question thinking back to the crib, "A um… girlfriend perhaps…" She swallowed the boiling liquid and looked only at her fascinating cup of tea while she held her breath waiting for an answer.

"Girlfriend? Oh no… Never had nor wanted one of those… before." Sheldon, in turn, now becoming over interested in his fascinating cup of tea. "Have someone living here? My sister stayed here for a spell when we were younger. She and her baby, Jake. Never had a roommate or friends either. I've got an older brother, and he's stayed here."

"So you have had guests?" Amy smiled as she thought she had caught him in a lie.

"Family members aren't guests, they're annoyances."

Amy laughed, "So true…" She looked again down the hall, "So you stayed, even though it has two bedrooms?"

"Well… I like the apartment and I didn't want to change."

"Yes, it's very nice, though these chairs have definitely seen their best days. Could use a couch though…" Amy looked over to the space in front of the bookcase and cocked her head like she was measuring the space. Sheldon mirrored her action exactly.

Sheldon smiled as he remembered the other Sheldons fighting over the one spot on the couch, "You know… I think you're right. A leather one. Now that I have someone to sit with me, I should get one sooner than rather than later."

Amy smiled, "I'll help you shop for it, that is if you need the help, though I really don't want to impose…" Amy could have kicked herself for sounding like a needy 12 year old. "I'm sure you can find your own couch."

"You'd help me? Oh that would be perfect. Maybe this weekend.. like Saturday? We… um… can look for a couch."

"It's a date." Amy smiled, then caught her words, "I.. mean.. not a date date… Just a shopping date. I would never…I mean."

"It's a shopping date." Sheldon cut off her ramblings with a coy grin and got up to make another cup of tea.

The rest of the evening, Amy and Sheldon spent discussing everything there was to know about everything, though he had a hard time keeping up with conversation as he had a tendency to become lost in her eyes. Amy had never had a person show so much interest in her. She felt like she was being interviewed for a job. Where did she grow up, why did she go into Neuroscience, what was her favorite music. When she gave the answer of Neil Diamond, Sheldon smiled with recognition.

"Oh do you like Neil as well?" Sheldon hated Neil Diamond.

Instead of telling her the truth, he gave her a quick lie so she would think that he would have something in common with her. "Oh, yes. He is great… Very… earthy."

Amy seemed elated, and beamed a huge smile, "Oh that's wonderful! Howard is a big fan too, the three of us should go to a concert!"

Sheldon looked sick, but he used his tea cup to mask it, "I know… tell me, how do you feel about the zoo?"

"THE ZOO! I Love the zoo!" Amy proceeded to tell Sheldon everything she knew about the LA zoo. "We should go sometime!"

The thought of going to a crowded zoo gave Sheldon shivers, though he used to love going with his PopPop when he was very young. Amy noticed his hesitation and realized that his aversion to crowds might hinder the trip, "Whenever you like, no pressure."

Sheldon smiled and continued with his questions asking her why she chose Harvard.

"I had a trust from my grandfather that only kicked in if I went to Harvard. Besides it has the best Neuroscience department in the country. Why did you choose Rice?" Amy sipped her tea and waited for his reply to what she thought was a simple question, but it seemed that it was far from a simple answer.

Sheldon gave a fake smile and said quickly, "Family" and changed the subject to one that he had been both pleased and surprised to find that she had knowledge of, and almost as much interest in as he had: Flags.

As the night progressed, Sheldon was smiling, and even heartedly laughing with Amy as they drank tea and nibbled on the snacks he had bought on the advice of his sister. However he worried that it wasn't enough for a proper meal, and wished he had thought to buy dessert.

Amy said with a grin, "If I knew you were going to feed me so well, I'd have brought pastries."

"PASTRIES? Like jelly filled ones, oh I love those!" Sheldon looked like a little kid begging for cookies.

Amy smiled, "I'll make you some one day."

"Oh, you're a peach, I'd love that!"

He could easily see why this woman seated across from him, sipping tea and laughing at his jokes was the same woman all the other Sheldon's adored.

Amy was still recovering from their tantalizing conversation when they finally said their goodbyes. Sheldon closed the door of his apartment and leaned against it with a huge smile on his face. As Amy walked dreamily to the elevator her smile mirrored his.

Amy saw Sheldon's gorgeous blond neighbor when she hit the elevator's call button. She was wearing a black dress so tight Amy could see her ribs and could tell her bra size in a glance. The blond gave Amy a saccharine smile.

"Hello." The blond was a little icy with the greeting.

"Hello… Nice um… dress."

"Oh this old thing… Just something I had in the back of the closet." The blond eyed Amy up down, "Being an actress, you have to dress the part." The blond eyed Amy up and down, "I'm sure you know what I mean…"

"Oh… Sure…" Amy swallowed and looked away having no idea what she was talking about. Amy had her grandmother's dresses in the back of her closet and none of Grammie's clothes looked like that.

"I see that Dr. Grumpy Pants has finally joined the living and emerged from his cave." The blond took a compact out of her purse and checked her makeup, but she was eyeing Amy up and down. "How long have you known him?"

Amy was guarded with the stranger, "Just a little while. He and I work at Caltech. How long have you… um… known him?" Amy took a deep swallow as she eyed the temptress.

"Oh for years, can ya believe it? Never so much as a how d'ya do. He sure likes you though." The blond winked at her and reapplied her red lipstick, the color of a thorny rose.

"What do you mean? How do you… Has he said.. something?"

"Oh, no nothing like that, I hardly see him except in the laundry room. Just that he is smiling now. Never seen it before, but he does have a nice smile." The blond gave a sly grin and turned back to Amy just as the elevator opened, "Anyway, just work colleagues, nothing more?"

Amy put her head up and glared, "No."

The blond snorted, "Yeah well that's just as well, men like that need someone to break them out of their shell and be taught a thing or two. Polar opposites work best, you see. You seem… too much like him."

Amy drew in another breath as she watched the woman adjust her skin tight skirt and head out the opened elevator door, "See ya around…maybe!" The bubbly blond waved back to Amy without turning around as she left the building to meet a man waiting in a car.

Amy stormed off to her own car, she was pleased with how the evening had gone with Sheldon, and valued their new friendship, but for some reason, the neighbor's words perturbed her.

Amy grumbled as she dove into her purse searching for her keys, "Who the hell does she think she is telling me who I can't be friends with; I should have showed her the ol' Fowler fist…" Amy was about to start the car when got a text from Sheldon.

"Thank you so much for an enjoyable evening. I can honestly say that I have never had such a good time discussing flags. Drive safe and I will see you tomorrow morning. Perhaps you can come earlier for tea?"

Amy reached up to touch her cheeks since her face hurt so much from smiling. She had a difficult time texting back that she would love to have tea in the morning.

"Blondie can suck it!" Amy commented under her breath as she drove home happily; the blonde's comment replaced by thoughts of what recipes she could use to make for pastries for the following morning.

Shortly after Amy arrived home, her phone sounded again. She almost knocked over her monkey statue getting to the phone, hoping it was Sheldon. She looked down and her heart sank:

"Hello Amy. Its Stuart. Looking forward to our compulsory date on Saturday. You can pick the movie, if you like or if that is too submissive, I can do it if you rather. You choose… The movie or the other thing. Anyway, I will pick you up at 7:30, if that is okay. If not. I can change it. Good bye."

"Oh crap!"

A/N: I hope you liked the chapter! Things are heating up, but it could be that cup of lemon tea. What do you think of the catty neighbor?

Next time... Sheldon meets Stuart, and love is in the air, but it's not who you think!